Business and Professional Ethics Journal

Volume 18, Issue 3/4, Fall/Winter 1999

Ethics and the Internet
The Cyberspace Behaviour of People, Communities and Organisations

This paper commences with an introductory segment that considers infonnation technology generally. This leads into a discussion of the Internet, which is important both in its own right and also because it is the primary instance of the notion of "information infrastructure." The concept cyberspace is introduced as a means of appreciating what it is that people who use the Internet experience. Building on this foundation, the presentation then briefly reviews ethical aspects of individual behaviour, communities, corporate behaviour, and governmental behaviour. A further section considers regulation, both by governments and through electronic community and Internet infrastructure.